


Third Date Is the Charm

by Sandyclaws68



Category: Naruto
Genre: 9 Weeks of Summer, Gen, KakaIru Fest, Kakashi makes Iruka crazy, M/M, Mild Language, More than one date, Prompt: Date Night, Week 8
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-08-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:08:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26144611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sandyclaws68/pseuds/Sandyclaws68
Summary: Jounin are crazy.  Kakashi is as exemplary in this as in most everything else. Iruka takes matters into his own hands.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka
Comments: 3
Kudos: 132
Collections: Nine Weeks of Summer 2020





	Third Date Is the Charm

It was a universally accepted, and often repeated, fact of shinobi life that jounin were crazy. For Umino Iruka this reality was indelibly fixed from hours spent behind the mission desk accepting reports in all manner of horrific conditions from jounin who were, likewise, in horrific condition. Mud splattered, blood splattered, chakra exhausted; he had seen it all. But even his years of witnessing breakdowns, meltdowns, and smackdowns had not prepared him for the ultimate proof of jounin insanity.

Dating Hatake Kakashi.

Iruka was not naive; he knew what he was (potentially) getting himself into when he first made his interest known to the other man. But Kakashi’s intelligence, honor, and commitment to Konoha were just as obvious as his eccentricities, and far more attractive. The sharp jawline and full lips outlined beneath the mask were also factors; Iruka may have been more interested in forging an emotional connection but he wasn’t immune to Kakashi’s physical attributes.

So when, after months of increasingly obvious flirting, Kakashi finally asked him out on a date Iruka didn’t hesitate to agree. And when Kakashi told him they would meet at a bookstore at eleven o’clock at night Iruka had thought it strange but went along with it. He didn’t expect that standing in line for over an hour waiting on the latest  _ Icha Icha _ release before Kakashi walked him home to be the extent of their date, but he accepted it as a part of the standard jounin insanity

It was over two months before they went out again, and in that time Kakashi went on two S rank missions and was hospitalized for nearly a week after the second. Iruka had visited him there but the medical staff must have had him on the best drugs because he was barely coherent the entire time. When he was released Kakashi made his way to the Academy and Iruka’s classroom, asking him out for the second time.

“When?” Iruka asked.

Kakashi was blushing faintly. “Ummm, now?” Iruka didn’t hesitate to stuff his student papers into his bag and leave the building with Kakashi, the pair of them talking quietly about whatever came to mind. Iruka told a few stories about the antics of his current crop of students, making the other man chuckle. Kakashi spoke of a B rank mission he had gone on when he was sixteen with Shiranui Genma and Sarutobi Asuma. They had been sent to break up an illegal drug operation on the border of the Land of Water and succeeded, but not before Asuma had been dosed with one of the gang's more potent products.

“He spent most of the trip home waxing poetic about Kurenai and how he was finally going to get up the courage to ask her out before Genma finally lost his patience and stuck a senbon into a nerve point in his jaw, paralyzing his mouth closed.”

Iruka was laughing so hard he nearly fell over. He remembered reading that mission report when organizing the archives but obviously they had left the best part out; it would make great blackmail material the next time he and Asuma had a disagreement. And he was enjoying their conversation so much that he hadn’t noticed where they were headed until they arrived at Training Ground #26. He glanced at Kakashi, one eyebrow raised.

“Ummm, I need a little help from someone who’s good with seals and barriers and you were the first person I thought of,” the jounin stated, having the grace to look a little abashed. “My last mission turned into a clusterfuck because of a fuinjutsu master, and I need to find a way to combat that.”

So their second date was actually a sparring session, but since Iruka enjoyed spending time with Kakashi he had no issues with going along. Sparring was actually a fairly typical shinobi choice for a date, and Iruka enjoyed watching Kakashi’s mind at work as he developed counter actions for every barrier and seal that Iruka threw his way.

When Kakashi finally called a halt Iruka was grateful to stop. He was a little more chakra drained than was normal for him; his last barrier had been so strong that Kakashi had resorted to using Raikiri to break it. And just like the first time Kakashi walked him home, but added on was a squeeze of his hand and an order to get some rest.

Their third date was an actual mission.

When Iruka first heard the knock on his door early on a Saturday morning he dismissed it as part of a dream and simply rolled over. But it sounded again, louder and more insistent, so with a few grumbles he rose from his bed, grabbed a kunai from the hiding place behind his mirror, and made his way to the front door as quietly as he could.

Kakashi stood on his doorstep, looking pleased with himself and holding a scroll. He waved it in front of Iruka’s face and said “Come on, we have a mission.” as if that was enough explanation.

Iruka pushed his loose hair out of his face. “Kakashi, it’s six in the morning.” Kakashi nodded. “On a Saturday.” Again the nod of agreement. “A Saturday that I am free from both the Academy and the Mission Desk.”

“I know, that’s why I chose this mission. It’s a quick, one day C rank, and I thought you might like the change of pace. Get out of the village, stretch your legs, that sort of thing.”

Put that way it did sound nice, But Iruka was still not willing to forgive six o’clock in the morning. “If I stab you in the thigh will you leave me in peace?” he asked, brandishing his kunai.

Kakashi’s visible eye curved into its trademark smile before he disarmed Iruka, so quickly that the chuunin didn’t even see it happen. “No, but I’ll give you an hour to get your things organized.” He turned away and walked off, tossing the kunai back as he did. “Meet me at the South Gate!”

The mission was exactly as Kakashi had described: a C rank that would take a day, if that. The weather was perfect; still warm but with a hint of an autumn chill in the breeze. It was Iruka’s favorite time of year, so he decided to take Kakashi’s advice and stretch his legs, breaking into a run when they were barely outside the gate.

It took just over an hour to reach the capital of the Fire Nation’s daimyo, and that was when Iruka’s pleasure in the mission received its first, rude check. As they made their way through the village that surrounded the Daimyo’s mansion Iruka read the scroll.

“Kakashi.”

“Hmmmm?”

“This says we’re supposed to inspect the mews to make sure the Hokage’s standards for the care of the birds are being met.”

“Yup.”

“All of the mews.”

Kakashi nodded. “I’m aware,” he replied, glancing at Iruka. “There are only five facilities. How bad could it be?”

Iruka pinched the bridge of his nose. “Kakashi, I did this same mission when I first made chuunin. It took over a week to get the smell of molted feathers and birdshit out of my clothes and hair.”

“Oh. So I guess that means I can’t offer fresh air as an inducement.”

Iruka gave up at that point and started to laugh. Honestly the situation was so ridiculous he would have been hard pressed to react any differently. “Okay, fine, let’s get this over with,” he commented, rolling the scroll back up and slapping it against Kakashi’s chest. “But I want it on record now that I get to plan our next date, deal?”

A tide of pink flowed upwards from the edge of Kakashi’s mask as he nodded. “D. . . Deal.” He reached out and took Iruka’s hand, twining their fingers together.

“And one last thing,” Iruka said, using their joined hands to move in close. “It’s our third date and I’m going to do this before the smelly bits,” he concluded as he brushed his lips against Kakashi’s mask-covered ones.


End file.
